Chet Holmgren breaks silence after losing Rookie of the Year award to Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs won the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year award, while Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also had an impressive debut season.

On the Road Trippin’ podcast, Holmgren was asked if he thought he deserved the Rookie of the Year award over Wembanyama, given his situation in Oklahoma City.

“It just comes down to who has the most voters who believe in their side of the criteria, I guess,” the Thunder rookie said.

Wembanyama won the rookie of the year award with 99 first-place votes, surpassing Holmgren in the polls.

Chet Holmgren’s feelings on Victor Wembanyama winning Rookie of the Year

“I don’t think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. I mean, full credit to him for a great season and everything. And you know, we’re not rookies anymore,” he continued.

However, according to the Thunder centre, the conditions between him and Wemby were different and their situations were not comparable.

“Our situations were different, like polar opposites,” Holmgren said.

The Thunder clinched first place in the Western Conference and entered their first playoff series since the 2020 bubble. While Wembanyama and the Spurs were 22-60 and never had a chance to qualify for the playoffs.

“You can find 50 advantages and disadvantages for each of us on things that aren’t statistics. Completely random things like who’s on our team, what we play for, how much attention we pay. You can find a million things for each of us to try to skew decisions.”

Different positions for the Spurs and the Thunder

Wembanyama finished the season averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game, a league-best. Holmgren averaged an impressive 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game while starting in all 82 games for the first-ranked Thunder.

Despite Wembanyama thriving as the primary option on a struggling team, Holmgren played alongside All-NBA First Team member Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star Jalen Williams, who took more shots than he did in the Thunder’s offense. Despite those circumstantial differences, their statistical output was relatively close.

While it’s hard to argue that Victor Wembanyama didn’t deserve the award given his incredible production, many believe Holmgren was unfairly overlooked. Despite Chet Holmgren’s slightly inferior numbers, his contributions led to the success of the young Thunder team, while Wembanyama’s impressive numbers came in a season where San Antonio won just 22 games.

“You can find 50 advantages and disadvantages for each of us based on things that aren’t statistics. Completely random things like who’s on our team, what we play for, how much attention we get,” Holmgren added.

Holmgren Face to Face with Wembanyama

Additionally, in games against the Wembanyama Spurs, Chet consistently excelled, averaging 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 blocks on 48.8 percent shooting over four games. Oklahoma City held a 3-1 advantage in the season series.

“We can make up a million different things for each of us to try to skew decisions. At the end of the day, what’s the criteria? That’s what I think about all the NBA awards: What’s the criteria? It all depends on the perspective of the person who’s appreciating them.”

Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, missed his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury suffered in a Summer Pro-Am game.

Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama, widely considered the hottest prospect since LeBron James, was selected first overall in the previous year’s draft by the San Antonio Spurs.